Fall Steelhead

Fly fishing the Muskegon River with RiverQuest guide and personal fishing buddy, Captain Don Graham! A busy, productive fall guiding season; sundry "To Do's;" and various family responsibilities had prevented Don's and my doing what we love so much—fly fishing together in one another's boats....

It was a cold, raw day on the Muskegon River swinging flies for steelhead. Honestly, pretty much as you’d expect by Thanksgiving. Long-time guest Peter and his new son-in law Mike joined me today. Fishing hasn’t been easy the last few days coupled with wind...

Crazy day swinging flies on the Muskegon River today. I certainly won’t blame the odd demeanor of our steelhead today on them personally! When your living room suddenly reduces space by 50% it likely would cause you to behave a little oddly too! (See pic...

Swinging flies the last couple days has been anything but easy for my boat. Good numbers of steelhead are around, but finding player fish has been challenging. Persistence is key and success is definitely earned.
A decent shot of rain is forecasted tomorrow and more “weather”...

Don and Thad, part of the fall MRO group fished today with me. Swinging flies was new to the fellas, but they quickly became proficient. While Don had previously hooked and fought steelhead on his fly rod, none were ever brought to hand. Pictured is...

Steelhead are simply a fantastic adversary to chase with a fly. Particularly so with the two-handed rod and a swung fly. Yesterday as massive arctic front plowed through the Muskegon River region and at times had you guessing whether you actually were swinging your fly...

Everything was just right on the river today–good guys and cooperative steelhead! I couldn't have asked for it to have been better for the guys. The river has fallen to a near ideal level. Water temperatures remain right about 50 degrees which is still pretty...

Killer weather, wonderful MO flow, two terrific guys—Ron and Bob—and, delightfully—willing steelhead! Today was truly "Just the Best." From the first run to the last, the guys hooked steelhead (with some lulls in between, to be sure), and though Bob had his shots early to...

Yesterday David, Kim, and Bill were chasing Albacore in NC with steady temperatures in the middle 70's. Today the guys arrived in Michigan at the Muskegon River Lodge with steady temperatures in the low forties to swing flies for fall steelhead. That's a 30 degree...

It’s funny how things go swinging flies for steelhead. The past few days on the Muskegon River has lived up to the reputation of earned success in the world of steelhead. Today things started much better today with a couple quick fish, but quickly turned...